Proverbs 11:28–Trust In?

Proverbs 11:28–"Whoever trusts in his riches will fail, but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf."

This verse offers a distinction.  On one hand there are those people who would put their trust in wealth, in riches.  These people are held in contrast to the righteous who will "flourish like a green leaf."  It would seem that, at the surface level, this verse is about trust.  However, I submit that there is something else, something deeper.

The question I have to ask is: why do the righteous flourish like a leaf?

The answer must take into account that those who trust in riches will fail but the righteous will flourish. Riches are not the reason that some will fail; it is their trust in riches that causes their failure.  The most obvious inference would be to say that what causes the righteous to flourish is, at the very least, that they do not place their trust in riches.

The appropriate follow-up question is: what do the righteous put their trust in?

Without wasting too much literary space, the answer to the above question is simple.  The righteous place their trust solely in God.  Trusting in God alone is the only way to ensure that one will flourish and not fail. There is only one sure Rock, only one Fortress.  Until or unless we place our trust solely and securely in He who is, then we will always seek something else to place our trust in that is neither trustworthy nor worthy of it.

In Christ alone.